The 25 Calibers

[Woodsloafer2]

Contemplating a new old rifle. A 25-20 in a Winchester 43 would be fun. Also like the Remington 25 in 25-20 or a 14 in 25 Remington. Have never had either or any 25-20 or 25 Remington. i have brass and dies for the 25 Remington but nothing for the 25-20. Anyone have any experience with these. I see lots of positive comments in past post on the Remington model 25 but found nothing on the 43. Any info is greatly appreciated.

[GunnyMack]

I had a 43 in Hornet. It was a decent shooter but I traded it off for a #1 218Bee.

I do have a Savage 23B in 25-20, used it for mid range prairie dogs. Was a real hoot with 60gr Hornady flat points.

[Bill in Oregon]

I have an early Remington Model 8 .25 Remington project rifle. The barrel was ringed (rung?) multiple times and wildly inaccurate. The whole barrel assembly is at my gunsmith's in Davenport Iowa, along with a 1:12 twist barrel I found on ebay. I would prefer the original 10 twist, but the Berger twist calculator says it should spin the 117-grain Hornady RN just fine. I paid for a new Manson reamer in November. It should arrive end of this month. I have had the Model 8 in .30, .32 and .35 Remington but always wanted the .25.
I believe our friend Earl M. has a lot of experience with the .25 Remington in the Model 14 and hope he will weigh in. There is just something about the quarter-bores.

[4t5]

Had a Ruger Hawkeye in 257 roberts, why I let it go I don’t know.

[6pt-sika]

I’ve had several 25-20 levers in Winchester 1892 , Marlin 1894 new and old versions . I’ve also had a 25-36 Marlin in a Marlin 1893 as well as 25-35 Winchester in a European single shot . Did the 250-3000 in a Ruger 77R tang safety gun , had the 257 Roberts in Ruger #1B and 77R tang safety . But the 25 cal I liked the most was the 25-06 and I’ve had many Rugers in bolt and single shot , Winchester 70 , Ruger Arms bolt and several Remington700’s of which a 700 Sendero stainless fluted in an HS Precision stock was The Most accurate 25 cal I’ve ever owned it was easily a five shot 1/4 MOA rifle and I suspect it mighta done better.

[6pt-sika]

I have an early Remington Model 8 .25 Remington project rifle. The barrel was ringed (rung?) multiple times and wildly inaccurate. The whole barrel assembly is at my gunsmith's in Davenport Iowa, along with a 1:12 twist barrel I found on ebay. I would prefer the original 10 twist, but the Berger twist calculator says it should spin the 117-grain Hornady RN just fine. I paid for a new Manson reamer in November. It should arrive end of this month. I have had the Model 8 in .30, .32 and .35 Remington but always wanted the .25.
I believe our friend Earl M. has a lot of experience with the .25 Remington in the Model 14 and hope he will weigh in. There is just something about the quarter-bores.

Two years ago we had a Remington Model 8 and Model 14 in the shop at the same time both chambered for 25 REM !

[6pt-sika]

I had a 43 in Hornet. It was a decent shooter but I traded it off for a #1 218Bee.

I do have a Savage 23B in 25-20, used it for mid range prairie dogs. Was a real hoot with 60gr Hornady flat points.

When I was a junior in HS I saw an add in Shotgun News for Donn Heath in Dallas I believe he was anyway he had several 43’s listed and I bought one of the Hornets he had seems to me I paid $275 shipped in 1978 . Little gun shot very well but not as well as a circa 1938 Model 70 in 22 Hornet I acquired later . Down the road a ways we picked up a Ruger #1B in 22 Hornet while it did well it never matched the groups I got with the Model 70 .

[JimT]

I am not sure this will count but I had several .25 ACP Raven's when I was younger.

Raven_25.JPG

My Dad made me a truncated-cone flat nose bullet mold and I experimented with heavy loads, getting over 1000 fps from the cheap little guns. The heaviest loads blew the primer pocket clean out of the cases upon firing, but the guns held up OK. The flatnosed cast bullet was excellent on rabbits.

[44shooter]

I am not sure this will count but I had several .25 ACP Raven's when I was younger.

Raven_25.JPG

My Dad made me a truncated-cone flat nose bullet mold and I experimented with heavy loads, getting over 1000 fps from the cheap little guns. The heaviest loads blew the primer pocket clean out of the cases upon firing, but the guns held up OK. The flatnosed cast bullet was excellent on rabbits.

I have wondered how a 25 ACP would be in a rifle. Particularly a good bolt action for squirrels or most anything normally shot with a 22lr

[44shooter]

I only have experience with a few 25-06s. Worked fairly well with 120s on deer and had light recoil. Still have my Sako, but the caliber isn’t my cup of tea anymore. A smaller cased 25 would be great for varmints and small game though.

[JBowen]

I have a Winchester model 94 Hunter 25-35 made in 2005 I ordered new in 2005. I shot a few targets with it using the 117 gr RN Hornady and Remington 86 gr jacketed designed for the 25-20. It shot pretty well. I can tell you the elevation is way different between the two. I need to get it out and work up some loads for it. I have not shot it since probably 2006. I have been thinking about getting some 60 and 86 grain cast bullets and see how it shoots. Should be a good plinker and varmint shooter.

Last year I took a Ruger MKII in 25-06 in on trade on a 1971 Chevrolet C10 pickup. I have worked up some pretty accurate loads with
H4831sc powder and Barnes 100 grain TTSX bullets. Have not shot anything but targets with it. I like this rifle really well.

I have ran into a couple of 25-20 Winchester 92s over the years, but I thought the owners were overly proud of them plus I have a 32-20
M92 than helps scratch that itch.

JBowen

[Old No7]

I love, love, love my Model 99A Savage in .250-3000, aka 250 Savage -- it's the first and only rifle with which I "saw my bullet hit the deer" in the scope's view. It's such a mild-mannered round on the shoulder -- but was more damaging to the deer's!

My late father used to sing its praises to me back in the 80's, when I got a .308 BLR (yup, a levergun, of course!) that beat me up pretty well at the range! My only regrets are: (a) Not getting the 250 Savage sooner, and (b) My dad has passed on before I took possession of the 99A.

Still, I'd like to think "he knows"...

Thanks for prompting this fond remembrance.

Cheers!

Old No7

Savage 99A 250 09.jpg

[win40-82]

Have had a couple of model 92s in 25-20. First one had bad bore and didn't shoot well at all, the one I have now has excellent bore and shoots great and is loads of fun. However brass isn't easy to come by so that slows shooting down a bit. Also have model 94 in 25-35. Very pleasant to shoot and brass is no problem, you can just neck down 30-30. If you have a chance at one with a good bore go for it.

[KeithNyst]

I echo OLD No. 7; love Savage 1899s or a 99s in 250-3000.

[AJMD429]

My Dad made me a truncated-cone flat nose bullet mold and I experimented with heavy loads, getting over 1000 fps from the cheap little guns. The heaviest loads blew the primer pocket clean out of the cases upon firing, but the guns held up OK. The flatnosed cast bullet was excellent on rabbits.

You sure you’re not related to Elmer Keith…???

[JimT]

You sure you’re not related to Elmer Keith…???

Yes, pretty sure. But I did communicate with him and still have his letters, if that counts.

[Bill in Oregon]

Jim, my hat is off to anyone who can plink rabbits with high-end handloads from a Raven!
Darryl, I am a fan of the .250-3000 as well, but the 99 I had in that chambering had the older 14-twist barrel and it really didn't care for any bullet approaching 100 grains. I missed out on a Savage Model 1920 in .250, same twist of course, but the world's first ultra-light sporting rifle, as far as I know.

[JimT]

Jim, my hat is off to anyone who can plink rabbits with high-end handloads from a Raven!

You should take note that I never mentioned how many I shot at or the distance for the ones I connected with.

[1894cfan]

I could use some .251 cal bullets!

[2ndovc]

I have a custom Martini Cadet rifle that I had rebarreled to .25-20. With a 70 gr. cast GC bullet it's a little tack driver.


I also have my grandfather's Model 70 in .250-3000 and his custom Arisaka .257 Roberts. Those two along with a custom 03-A3 in .257 Roberts cover my .25 cal needs pretty well and all are outstanding shooters.
Grandpa was a big fan of small and very fast bullets.

jb

[6pt-sika]

When I first replied to this I forgot a 25 cal I had for awhile . Actually liked the gun but it wasn’t the best choice for what I used it for ! Remington brought out a limited run of 700CDL’s with blued fluted barrels and walnut stocks in 257 Weatherby with 26” barrels , so I got one fifty pieces of brass and a set of does . Once I’d had the trigger fiddled with and shimmed it up in the stock it did very nicely . However I hunt in the woods mostly for deer and I always had doubts on whether the projectiles would make it to the animal and not blow up on a twig or be diverted . Now in all honesty the same could be said about a 25-06 . But anyway I had that rifle for a short while maybe 6 months , someone saw it on my desk at the shop and expressed more than a little intrest so I sold them gun brass and dies at a decent profit . Kinda wish I had it back , but for what I do I do t feel under gunned with the 6.5x54 MS or 7x57 .

[earlmck]

I've always had a "thing" for the quarter bore. Grew up with a m92 25/20 stuffed in the corner of the closet because "the bore is worn out". 20 years later I discovered that my dad's assessment of the "worn out bore" was just because we couldn't afford to provide 25/20 ammo to a dang kid who wanted to shoot rocks, bottles, quail heads, distant bunnies. That "closet corner" m92 is now my favorite weapon for our monthly "quarter bore" match these days. I use a 70 grain cast from an Arsenal mould because the old 87 grain Lyman I shot for years did not keep good accuracy to the 200 yard ram target. Twist issues I suspect.

I own two of the Remington m14 in 25 Remington. They both have sewer-pipey looking bores and will not shoot a cast bullet for beans. One of them will do OK with jacketed bullets but since I am a cast bullet shooter they have not been fired in years. The best one did well with the 117 grain Hornady round nose, and also with a 90 grain Sierra bullet that also shoots nicely in my elderly m99 250/3000 with the slow twist. The 90 grain Sierra hpbt bullet is supposedly built as a game bullet though I have yet to shoot a critter with it myself. I saw some favorable write-ups on it some years ago when I was messing with my slow-twist m99 and so I have bought a couple boxes of them in case a grandkid ever wants to deer hunt with the Savage.

The 25 Remington cartridge is interesting -- much less taper than the 25/35 Winchester cartridge, so essentially equivalent to a 25/35 Improved cartridge. If I still deer hunted I'd be looking to whack one using the Rem 14 with the 90 grain Sierra. Looking at my reloading notes I see that I made brass from 30 Remington brass with an intermediate 7mm step and then on down to 25 using a 250 Savage die. I don't own a 25 Remington die so would use 30 Remington die as a body die and then the 250 Savage die to neck size. Notes say that the 260 Remington Lee Factory Crimp die will crimp the 25 Remington if you so desire. Looks like I used 32 grains of RL17 for about 2600 fps which should be plenty zippy.

[Woodsloafer2]

Thank you all for your input....greatly appreciated. A Remington 14 seems like a good idea in 25 Remington. I have been wanting a takedown that I can put in a pack out of sight until I get back into the mountains. A carbine would be good but I can cut a rifle down for a lot less than the carbines go for. Now to find the right one at the right price. have a possibility in the works.....thanks again everyone...wealth of knowledge here!

[kaschi]

The Remington Model 14 in 25 Remington is such a delight to shoot! You'll love it but you'd be doing a nice old rifle a great disservice by cutting it down to carbine length!